Thursday, September 27, 2007

the Last 2 weeks I felt that I was playing pretty decent poker. I felt good about how I was playing. While I was not making the stupid stupid mistakes that we all do at times.

Well how times have changed. I am back to playing like a total donk. I know I know you will say that I play like that All the time but I disagree just most of the time.I wish I could put my finger on what if the difference in play is for me.

Maybe I tilt or get bored. But putting all your chips in with marginal calls or raises is something most of us do at 1 time or another but for some of us not named ASTIN who are not card racks it can be very very dangerous.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Idaho -- Hailey's electorate will vote in November on proposed initiatives to legalize or decriminalize marijuana within the city limits.After legal battles with Hailey for more than three years, pro-marijuana advocate Ryan Davidson, chairman of Liberty Lobby of Idaho, has successfully complied with city requirements to put his initiatives before the voters.

Davidson was notified on Friday, the deadline for completion of initiative requirements, that his pro-marijuana initiatives will be on the ballot for the city's Nov. 6 general election.

"The only way this is going to go away is to let the people vote on it," said Hailey City Council President Rick Davis at Monday's council meeting.

Hailey's electorate will vote on four different initiatives to legalize or decriminalize marijuana. The first, and the one Davidson said is most important, would mandate the city to regulate and tax marijuana sales and use and would require the city to advocate and lobby for reform or marijuana laws statewide or nationally.

If approved by the voters, adoption of the law could be delayed for up to one year. The initiative requires the establishment of a community oversight committee to work out the details of legalization and gives the committee one year to get the job done. The four-member committee would be comprised of representatives appointed by the city council, the mayor, the Hailey Police Department and Liberty Lobby of Idaho.

"Nothing's going to be immediately legalized if the initiative passes," Davidson said Monday.

A second initiative before the voters would legalize medical use of marijuana. Another initiative would make enforcement of marijuana laws the lowest priority for the Hailey Police Department. The fourth initiative would allow for industrial use of hemp, a marijuana byproduct.

The city council discussed the initiatives briefly at their Monday meeting when City Clerk Heather Dawson formally notified the council that the initiatives have qualified for the ballot.

Council members seemed more amused than alarmed by the initiatives and mused that Hailey may receive national news media attention because of the issue.

The only action taken by the council was a vote to not summarize wording in the initiatives and to have them printed as written on the ballot.

"The voters have to vote on this; the Supreme Court was very clear," said Hailey city attorney Ned Williamson.

He was referring to an Idaho Supreme Court decision in September 2006 when the high court ruled in Davidson's favor in a lawsuit against the city of Sun Valley. In that ruling the court determined that municipalities do not have the right to determine the constitutionality of proposed initiatives.

Davidson won a second major court victory earlier this month when U.S. District Court in Boise issued a preliminary injunction that bars the city of Hailey from requiring that initiators of initiatives be residents of the city.

Davidson's legal battles with cities in the Wood River Valley started in August 2004 when he filed petitions for initiative elections with the cities of Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley.

Davidson said Monday that he will continue to push for marijuana legalization elections in Ketchum and Sun Valley and hopes to have the issues on ballots for next May's primary elections.

Davidson acknowledged that if voters approve his pro-marijuana initiatives, further litigation might ensue because of conflicts with state and federal law.

Oklahoma -- The legalization of marijuana would greatly impact the U.S. economy. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, website, marijuana is mericas most valuable crop.�Marijuana crops in the United States are worth about 35.8 billion dollars per year, which is 12.5 billion more dollars per year than corn, the second most profitable crop. If taxed like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana could bring in even more money.

Marijuana sales could generate an estimated 6.2 billion dollars per year in taxes, according to Harvard professor Jeffrey Miron. Legalization of marijuana could also save law enforcement agencies an astronomical amount of money. Miron estimates that marijuana legalization could save the United States as much as 7.7 billion dollars in law enforcement costs per year.

Marijuana legalization would be great for our economy, but isn't marijuana a dangerous drug that could lead users down the hopeless road of addiction?

First of all, marijuana is not physically addictive. Unlike heroin, alcohol and even tobacco and caffeine, discontinuing the use of marijuana does not produce physical withdrawal symptoms, thus one cannot be detoxed from THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for producing the high in the smoker.

Secondly, marijuana, if used responsibly, is safe. According to drugwarfacts.org, there are an estimated 435,000 deaths per year in the United States due to tobacco use and 85,000 deaths due to alcohol.

So, how many people die every year from using marijuana? Zero. Thats right, the use of marijuana alone has not been shown to cause any deaths.

Marijuana is demonized and reputed to be a gateway drug that leads to the use of harder drugs like heroin. Many people who sell marijuana also sell other illegal drugs.

If one could purchase marijuana legally, then one would not be exposed to or offered other drugs when purchasing pot, which could reduce the risk of experimenting with hard drugs. Legalizing marijuana could actually help decrease the use of dangerous drugs by reducing exposure to them.

People are always going to use illegal drugs, but many more people use marijuana than heroin, cocaine, LSD or ecstasy.

Marijuana use is prevalent in the United States. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, marijuana is one of the three most popular drugs used in America, along with alcohol and tobacco.

It is estimated that 20 million Americans have used marijuana in the past year. If this many people use marijuana, why have the laws against marijuana remained the same?

Times are changing. More and more people are realizing the need for marijuana law reform and decriminalization.

While recent 2006 marijuana initiatives were defeated, support for them is growing. In Colorado a law to legalize marijuana was defeated 60 percent to 40 percent.

In Nevada a law that not only legalized marijuana, but also set up a taxation plan, was only defeated 56 percent to 44 percent.

Decriminalization and legalization of marijuana are going to happen. It will be beneficial to the economy and those who enjoy smoking, drinking, eating or vaporizing marijuana.

The legalization of marijuana will mean a push for progress, not social degeneration.